Thanks to all of you who came out to our public training run. It was nice to see so many new faces eager to run long on such a beautiful morning. We really have been fortunate to have the opportunity to train in such wonderful conditions for the past week. I’m hoping that they don’t end, but hey this is Michigan in early spring and you never know, we could have 3 feet of snow by the end of next week. Hopefully you’ve been able to take advantage.

This morning’s long run went absolutely perfectly for me. I decided to run a few less miles than my training buddies who were starting earlier and turn it into tempo run. The weather was ideal for some fast running and I hoped to practice 25K race pace for a few miles. I had intended to do this in the second half of the 14 miler but was feeling a little antsy and ended up starting after the 3rd mile and carrying it all the way through 14. I averaged 6:34 pace this morning for the entire distance including the slower early miles. So as of right now I’m feeling pretty confident that if we get a good day and I can remain injury free - I have a good chance of meeting my goal to break 1:40.

I’ve definitely become a “group” runner the past couple years and rarely run alone now. While I enjoy the company of my friends immensely, I find that lately I lack the mental focus it takes to run hard in race situations. The ability to run fast is largely a product of genetics and physical ability sure, but the ability to stay focused on pace while running hard is also critically important. This takes a lot of practice as well, and I feel a hard solo effort once in a while with only your determination to push you helps. Yes, at least fifty percent of running is half mental….huh? What I mean is in a race it’s every man (or woman) for themselves and this is something we should all practice once in a while. So today was a good opportunity for me to do that.  

I’d like to congratulate all of the Road Warriors who hit goals this morning. Rachel hit her first 12 and Michelle is finally coming off of her pneaumonia and did 10. Melissa and Jennifer did a quick 14 and our speedys Jill and Jordon hit 16 for the day. Great job everybody!

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There’s nothing like a promising stretch of warm sunny weather to finally break the insouciance of a cold and dreary training cycle (uh-oh John). Although this certainly has been a mild winter by Michigan standards, it’s nice to finally see all of those pasty white and in many cases freshly shorn gams out there on the roads soaking up the vitamin D. I’m not just talking about the guys either.

Kidding aside, I’m very excited that the seasons appear to be changing for the better in my opinion. The lethargic feeling of ennui that running through the cold months has brought on is being replaced by feelings of utter giddiness out there. You can see it on the smiling faces and also in the quickened gaits of those suddenly finding themselves less encumbered by several layers of clothing. Although this may be a brief period of warmth in the aperture of Mother Nature’s eye, for now it is more than welcomed.

Before I’m excoriated for using any more words I’ve only recently learned the meanings of, I’ll switch back to my normal style of writing. I trust that this closes the matter John, and I’ll take a dirty in 530 please.

Running has been going well and I’ve somehow unknowingly managed to stay away from fast food for the entire period of Lent. So I guess I gave that up as well. Checkers sounds really good today though, unfortunately (or maybe not) we have a 2 mile time trial tonight and I’d rather not jeopardize the workout. I’ve learned that a Baconzilla does not mingle well with short shorts and track shoes.

I’d like to congratulate the Road Warriors for their great performances at the Irish Jig. I’m really proud of the progress that they’re making, and I’m sure that they’ll continue to improve as we move toward the Fifth Third River Bank Run on May 8th.

I had to miss the Jig this year but it was for a happy occasion. My younger brother Patrick was marrying his lovely Lauren out in Las Vegas. They decided to go a little over the top on the hokey scale and get married by Elvis. I think they even chipped in a few extra bucks to get young skinny Elvis and not old fat Elvis, who appears to be in lesser demand. I was initially a little unsure about this but it was honestly the coolest wedding I’ve ever attended (don’t tell my wife).

The weekend could not have gone any better. I had never met his fiancés family as they live in LA but in spending time with her parents I learned that they once ran the LA Marathon on a dare – with no training. I instantly loved them.

Hey – doing anything Saturday morning? Why not come out and join the Road Warriors and about 300 others for a free and supported training run? We’ll be leaving from the Downtown Y at 8:00 a.m. sharp. There will be various pace groups available and with so many people you’re sure to find a group to run with. Hope to see you there – I’ll be the one grinning like an idiot at this weather.

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Last night I ran without a coat, granted I was wearing 2 long sleeve tops…but still. It was awesome! The daylight is holding on a little longer each night. Last night we made it through 6 of 8 half mile repeats before darkness finally won out. Only a couple weeks ago we were starting practice in pitch blackness, looking much like a large herd of blinky light reflective aliens taking over the streets of EGR. I think Spring is coming. It has to be as we are now in March. 

Knock on wood but so far I think this has been a very mild winter for running. I recall long runs in blizzard-like conditions on at least 3-4 Saturdays last year, yet this year we really haven’t had that at all. There have been a couple cold runs and this past Saturday was pretty slushy and somewhat irritating, but nothing like previous years. Global warming? I sure hope so! Not really – and let’s not go down that road. I think we’ve just been fortunate this winter.   

As we get closer to May 8th, we are starting to ramp up our mileage while also increasing intensity and duration of our speed workouts. It’s critical at this point that we are paying close attention to  what our bodies are telling us. Make sure that you are taking in enough calories to fuel your workouts as well as recovery. Hydrate properly every day and pay close attention to those little tweaks that pop up here and there. It’s important to recover from hard efforts before going into the next workout and expecting to be productive and remain injury free. Proper rest, nutrition, and hydration play important roles here.  

This Saturday there is a another public training run from the down town YMCA at 8:00 a.m. with various distances available. The weather looks promising so please come out and join us. The last public run in early February brought in about 250 runners so you’re sure to find someone to run your pace. Training with a group really does make it more enjoyable so if you haven’t tried it yet please do. I think you’re going to like it.

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Because I am making an attempt to pay close attention to nutrition this training cycle and trying to be held accountable, I feel it is important to share what I just ate. A 3 piece triple-fried fish meal from a restaurant that shall remain nameless, with fries and several extra hushpuppies instead of slaw, and all of those succulent little crispy pieces of mystery breading  that should never be wasted. Grand total with the Coke…1,760 calories, 83 grams of fat, and 22.5 grams of trans fat. I promise I will make every attempt not to let this nutritional disaster happen again. There Brittany  Miller, I hope you are satisfied.  ; )

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Yes, I appear to have caught some kinda funky funk throat junk. I blame this on my friend Brooke, who just last week was commenting on how I’m never sick. Just kiddin’ Brooke. It came on just after I finished the long run Saturday morning. We were to pick up the second half of the run, eventually getting down below half marathon pace. My last 6 miles were pretty fast, but as I was running the quicker pace I could feel a tickle coming on in my throat. As soon as I was done this tickle decided to turn into a five minute coughing fit – which is something that had never happened before. I felt ok but slightly off the rest of the day though and had forgotten about it until… 

Sunday morning I awoke and it felt as if someone was holding a blow torch to my uvula. Can I say that? Oh well, look it up. The pain was pretty severe and I decided to skip the normal Sunday run I usually do with my friends. I did go down and sit in the steam room at the Y for a bit, which really didn’t help. I ended up taking the rest of the day pretty easy and getting a lot of stuff done around the house – much to the delight of my lovely wife I might add. It was Valentines Day after all.

Monday I awoke sounding very much like Barry White. I felt absolutely miserable and for the first time in 4 years called in sick to work. It was truely a sick day, my throat was really hurting and the coughing fits started too. I was able to sleep for about 2 hours during the afternoon, but that was the highlight of my day.  

I had already decided to skip this morning’s run but when the alarm went off I briefly awoke in a NyQuil haze and for fifty minutes repeatedly dreamed that I had got out of bed and was getting ready for work. Needless to say I was late, and because of this nearly called in again. I skipped tonight’s run too. I’n coughing as I type that it’s been 3 days…ugh.

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